Saturday 3rd December 2011 KO 4.30pm
ALMOST 30,000 fans played witness to a superb spectacle of passionate, running rugby on Saturday as the northern and southern hemisphere’s collided for the Help for Heroes Rugby Challenge.
Over £2 million pounds has now been raised from the two Heroes Rugby matches at Twickenham, the first in 2008, and while the day was more about fund raising than keeping score, an Adam Thomson inspired southern hemisphere side ran out eventual 36-22 winners.
It was north who struck first, though, after England U20 hooker Scott Spurling, 18, sidestepped the great Wallaby wing Joe Roff to run in the first try of the afternoon from deep inside his own half with Army man Ceri Cummings converting.
That was as good as it got for Dean Ryan and John Kirwan’s side, as the southern hemisphere replied immediately with the South African centre Andries Strauss slicing through the north defence to give Thomson, the south captain and a recent World Cup winner, the chance to dive over.
Centre Jackson Willison, from New Zealand, scored a breathtaking second try for the south before their South African lock Inus Ras battered over just before the interval to put Mallett's side in control.
The south suffered a blow when fly-half and kicker Sias Ebherson was taken off on a stretcher moments after the north introduced a couple of illustrious substitutes in another World Cup winner, Will Greenwood, and Sean Long, the former St Helens rugby player who has been playing union of late for Preston Grasshoppers.
Worcester's Josh Drauniniu gave the south a stranglehold on the match with a try following a run from the halfway line after the break, before Long and Greenwood combined to give the centre Tom Gleeson a deserved try.
The impressive South African hooker Pieter Van Vuuren cancelled out the score by crashing over in the corner before the north full-back Cummings rounded off the scoring with a try in the last minute.
Help the Heroes has funded a variety of projects including the £8 million rehabilitation complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5 million treatment centre for combat stress and the creation of a £6 million quick reaction fund to support individuals in need.
Northern Hemisphere
C Cummings; E Walker, T Gleeson, B Cohen, A Watson; N Mordt, D Pascoe; A Giorgadze, S Spurling,D Bell, D Grewcock, H Vyvyan (capt.), A Quinlan, S Betsen, I Boladau.
Tries: Spurling, Gleeson, Cummings. Cons: Cummings (2). Pen: Cummings.
Southern Hemisphere
J Roff; A Matsun, J Willison, A Strauss, K Basson: S Ebersohn, J Marshall; S Taumalolo, P van Vuuren, T Mercy, I Ras, J Thrush, A Thomson (capt.), A J Venter, Z Feaunati.
Tries: Thomson, Willison, Ras, Draunioniu, van Vuuren. Cons: Ehberson (2), Little (2). Pen: Ehberson.
Referee: C White (England)
Att: 29,251
*Match report courtesy of RFU
HEROES RUGBY CHALLENGE
SOME of the greatest rugby players from around the world will line up at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 3 December 2011 for the ‘Heroes Rugby Challenge’. The match, which kicks off at 1630 and is supported by J.P. Morgan, aims to raise a substantial sum of money for Help for Heroes, the charity which provides practical support for wounded service men and women.
HEROES RUGBY CHALLENGE LAUNCH - TWICKENHAM 15/08/11
England World Cup winners, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Leonard, together with Welsh legend, Ieuan Evans, will manage the H4H Northern Hemisphere XV against an all-star Southern Hemisphere XV side which will be overseen by Australian and All Black World Cup winners Michael Lynagh and Sean Fitzpatrick. The two teams will comprise of players selected from the northern and southern hemisphere professional game and the best players from the Armed Forces.
This year’s fixture, which will mark the tenth anniversary of Britain’s Armed Forces Operations in Afghanistan, promises to be an even bigger attraction than the first Help for Heroes match in 2008 when over 52,000 spectators helped raise £1.46m for Help for Heroes.
The Heroes Rugby Challenge was launched on Monday 15th August 2011 by HH Judge Jeff Blackett (Chairman), CEO and founder of Help For Heroes, Bryn Parry OBE, Event Director Jolyan Armstrong and Simon Halliday. The committee were joined by retired rugby internationals and world cup winners Jason Leonard OBE, Will Greenwood MBE - who will be pulling on his boots again to play for the H4H Northern Hemisphere XV, Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM and Michael Lynagh. Also present were wounded servicemen Private Derek Derenalagi, Private Scott Meenagh and Lance Corporal Matthew Wilson.
- Heroes Rugby Challenge will be broadcast live and exclusively on Sky Sports HD.
- None of the players will be paid to participate.
- You can show your support for the Heroes Rugby Challenge:
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TEAMS
H4H Northern Hemisphere XV |
Southern Hemisphere XV |
COACHES |
COACHES |
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Dean Ryan |
Wayne Smith |
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John Kirwan |
Nick Mallett |
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PLAYERS |
PLAYERS |
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15. Ceri Cummings |
15. Nicky Little |
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14. Nathan Jones |
14. Kobus Basson |
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13. Tom Gleeson |
13. Andries Strauss |
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12. Will Greenwood |
12. Jackson Willison |
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11. Eli Walker |
11. Joe Roff |
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10. Nils Mordt |
10. Sias Ebersohn |
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9. Dave Pascoe |
9. Tony Luxford |
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1. Tom Smith |
1. Jo Tuala |
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2. Gordon Bulloch |
2. Pieter Van Vuuren |
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3. Akvensenti Giorgadze |
3. Sona Taumalolo |
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4. Danny Grewcock |
4. Jeremy Thrush |
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5. Hugh Vyvyan |
5. Inus Ras |
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6. Alan Quinlan |
6. AJ Venter |
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7. Serge Betsen |
7. Phil Waugh |
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8. Ifereimi Boladau |
8. Adam Thomson |
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REPLACEMENTS |
REPLACEMENTS |
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16. Scott Spurling |
16. Ephraim Taukafa |
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17. Peter Edwards |
17. Tom Mercey |
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18. Duncan Bell |
18. Justin Harrison |
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19. Marshall Cormack |
19. Ben Radmall |
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20. Andrew Tibbatts |
20. Dane Berghan |
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21. Chris Cook |
21. Epi Taione Tonga |
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22. Sonny Parker |
22. Zac Feau’nati |
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23. Anthony Watson |
23. Justin Marshall |
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24. Ben Cohen |
24. Ahtun Masun |
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25. Jordan Williams |
25. Ed Yarnton |
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TICKETS*
SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER 2011
KO 4.30pm BST
East and West Stands
ADULTS £40
JUNIORS(U16) £15
North and South Stands
ADULTS £30
JUNIORS (U16) £10
Family Tickets £70 [2 Adults and 2 Juniors]
Rugby Rd, Twickenham TW1 1DZ
[South East corner of stadium from 12pm on the day]
*THE FULL COST OF THE TICKET GOES TO HELP FOR HEROES
ABOUT THE CHARITIES
HELP FOR HEROES was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry in October 2007 out of a desire to help the wounded Servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The message of the charity is simple: We are strictly non political and non critical; we simply want to help. We believe that anyone who volunteers to serve in time of war, knowing that they may risk all, is a hero. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and some of them are living with the consequences of their service for life. We may not be able to prevent our soldiers from being wounded, but together we can help them get better.
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Help for Heroes (H4H) has raised over £105m since its launch in October 2007.
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All the funds raised to date are either allocated or spent on the direct, practical support of those wounded in the line of duty. To date, H4H has funded a variety of projects including the £8m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5m treatment centre for Combat Stress, adaptive adventure training through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.
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In February 2010, H4H announced its key role in the creation of five regional Personnel Recovery Centres (PRCs), which provide, in partnership with the MOD and The Royal British Legion and other Service charities, ongoing training and support for the wounded after Headley Court. Locations of the PRCs include Edinburgh, Colchester, Catterick, Tidworth and Plymouth.
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Help for Heroes does not seek to criticise or be political. They work closely with the Army, Navy and RAF, along with other services charities, to provide support where it is most needed.
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Of the money raised to date for H4H, nearly all of it has been either spent or allocated to provide facilities and support services that benefit British servicemen and women injured in action.
Help For Heroes is registered in England and Wales as a Company limited by Guarantee under number 6363256.Registered Charity number 1120920.
THE southern hemisphere armed services charities are yet to be announced.
SUPPORTING HEROES RUGBY CHALLENGE
